Person in Memory
by BeyondJustReading
Summary: The Time War. Something no Time Lord ever wants to revisit. I was running from it. Who wouldn't? I don't know what I had done to get out of there, but I did. I was standing in a TARDIS facing my father, who should've been dead.


"Doctor," Rose said over a cone of strawberry ice cream, "Someone just walked into the TARDIS."

"What? No no no no… That's _impossible_. I have the TARDIS locked. No one can get in without a key," The Doctor said licking his chocolate-vanilla twist.

Rose tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "No, I'm definitely sure that someone just walked in. Can we please go check it out?"

"If you insist," The Doctor said half-heartedly, licking his ice cream a final time before tossing it into a bin.

As the duo walked in the direction of the TARDIS Rose smiled and said, "Y'know, I never said throw out your treat."

She took another lick of her ice cream as the Doctor said, "Yeah well… I decided it was for the best. If there really is something or someone in the TARDIS I best not have an ice cream in my hands."

Rose nodded absent-mindedly as she savored another taste of her ice cream. The Doctor smiled and rifled in his pockets for his TARDIS key. He pulled out a silver keychain with a square-ish key attached to it. The Doctor slid the key into the lock underneath the decoy lock and the door swung open. He popped his head in before he allowed Rose to step in.

His chocolate eyes surveyed the room and said, "See, Rose? Nothing to worry about. There's no one here!"

Rose stepped in and said in denial, "I swear I saw something… I really did."

She flicked her ice cream into the TARDIS trash bin. The Doctor jogged up to the control panel.

"Well now that our day in Cardiff is positively _ruined –_"

"Oi! I did not ruin it!" Rose laughed and bit her lip walking up next to the Doctor. They joked and laughed until Rose made her way around the console and nearly had an aneurism right on the spot.

"Doctor… DOCTOR," She panicked staring into a shadow.

"What is it?" The Doctor said not looking up from his fiddling with the controls.

"Doctor look! I told ya there was someone in here!" Rose fell backwards onto the table and felt her way back to protection of the Doctor. The Doctor glanced up in the direction Rose was referring to. Almost in the wall of the TARDIS, a cloaked figure stood clutching out its side. Its knuckles were gripping so hard they were snow white and all the veins in the hands popped out.

"Well well…" The Doctor mumbled, tucking the sonic screwdriver into his pocket, "Now who is _that_?"

**-Kara- **

A man and a young woman walked into the room. My gut and heart were hit with the realization. It _was _him. It was really him. I knew it. My side was aching. I couldn't just walk out of the shadow and say hello – it'd scare him silly. My best bet was to stand and wait where I was until one of them noticed me.

Luckily, it wasn't too long until the woman noticed me. She flailed backwards like she was staring down a Dalek. I didn't have much time left and I just wanted to make sure he saw me. I wanted to make sure he knew the news.

"Well well… Now who is _that?_" He asked. He placed a sonic _something _(I wasn't quite sure what it was) into his jacket pocket and strode forward.

"Hello!" He smiled and waved at me, "What's your name? Can you come out of the shadows please?"

"I can't," I croaked, coughing up some blood.

"Are you hurt?" He said rushing forward. He grabbed my shoulders. I didn't dare look up at him yet, I just stared down at his sneakers.

"You are," He whispered, answering his own question, "Oh, come here dear… Rose, get the First Aid. You know where it is."

"No, no…"I laughed hollowly, "I don't need that. I'm happy now. I got to see you again before I die."

I fell forward onto his chest.

"Whoa whoa whoa," He got onto his knees and laid me down upon his lap. He saw my bloodstained hands and lips.

"What happened to you?" He asked quietly. The woman, Rose, kneeled down beside him. She looked horrified. But what was she doing with him?

I licked my lips, tasting the blood on them, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. So instead I asked, "What regeneration is this for you?"

His body tensed, "How do you know about that?"

He seemed mad, almost furious that someone outside of his world knew what it meant to be a Time Lord. Little did he know was _part _of his world.

"Please…" My voice was giving out.

"Oh Doctor please tell her," Rose's voice cracked.

"It's my tenth regeneration," He said, "Can I pull your hood back?"

"Yes," My voice was so faint. I was surprised he could hear me. Gently, his fingertips grazed my forehead and the cloak's hood slowly fell to my shoulder. The cool breeze of fresh air from the TARDIS hit me. I felt healthy for a second then I remembered how I really was.

I felt him stiffen again, and he quickly said, "Earlier you said you were 'happy to see me again.' Have we met?"

I smiled, "I believe we have."

My vision was blurring now and I could only see faint outlines of his face. He had gotten young. I reached my hand up to his hair and slightly grabbed hold of it.

"My, has it gone ruffly," I chuckled, my fingers fell down to his ears, "Look at those ears too, they're so floppy. Nice sideburns."

My hand fell back onto my chest.

"When was the last time you saw me?"

He looked like he was trying really hard. His eyes crinkled and his lips tightened.

"The war on Gallifrey," I gasped, clutching my side. It felt worse than when I first got the wound. The glass inside was digging in further.

"What? No impossible. There was no one there – Oh my God," His grip on me slackened, "No."

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Rose said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Doctor is everything alright?"

He ignored her and looked me in the eye. He was crying. His tears dripped onto my face. I flinched.

"Oh, oh sorry dearie," He laughed and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks with his sleeve.

"Remember me now?" I said, reaching up to his face, "Remember me now, Daddy?"

"Kara!" He said and embraced me tightly. He sobbed into my shoulder. I couldn't hug him back and I didn't want to ruin the moment so I kept my mouth shut. Whatever was going on, he hadn't seen me in a while. It had to have been at least five solid minutes before Dad let me go.

He looked speechless. Utterly speechless.

"Oh Kara honey, let's patch you up please," He hoisted me up in his arms and made his way to a corridor.

"No Dad. You don't need to. I'm fine," I said, coughing up more blood.

"Kara, stop being stupid."

"I'm not stupid Daddy. Listen to me. Mummy and I had news for you before the war. You left too early for that meeting and we didn't catch you in time," I wheezed, "Daddy, I got my title. I'm a Time Lordess now."

He nearly dropped me, "You're serious Kara?"

"Of course!"

"That means you can regenerate! What regeneration is this of you? No, this time has to be your first you look exactly the same since last time," I had gotten Dad excited.

My face grew serious, "No… I'm scared to. It's going to hurt isn't it?"

"No! Not at all!" He placed me down on the ground leaning against the wall and cupped my face in his hands, "Not at all. Look at me, I've been through 10 and I'm still good!"

I couldn't laugh. My anxiousness overwhelmed me. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"That's it… Concentrate… Think of happy memories… Remember the time we went on a picnic in the garden or how Johnny would play badminton with you all afternoon when you were only 60 years old?" He was coaxing me into regenerating. I just couldn't give in though.

Suddenly, I got extremely tired.

"Bye-bye Daddy," I said and my chest fell for the final time.

**-Omniscient-**

"Kara?" The Doctor asked. He stared down at his daughter. Her pixie cut hair, decorated with a headband, flopped in her eyes. She'd usually be right on top of that and push it out of the way.

"Doctor," Rose said, stepping forward, "I don't think she's breathing."

The Doctor kneeled down next to Kara, "No… No Kara sweetie. NO! Do you understand you _can't _die! You're supposed to _regenerate! _That's what Time Lords _do._"

He started to cry into Kara's shoulder when he pulled her in for a hug.

"Doctor… I'm so sor –" Rose started.

"NO!" The Doctor screamed cutting her off, "You don't understand! You'll never understand. I had _hope _for such a small amount of time. I had _hope _that someone in my family will actually live on with me. That I wasn't the only one left. Then she… She… KARA!"

He tried a final time to wake her up. It was to no avail. Rose sat down in front of the console and watched the Doctor. He stroked Kara's cold cheek with his thumb. She was so beautiful. She looked just like her mother when he first met her. Kara had the darkest beauty marks all over her face and shoulders. She had a little button nose and the deepest brown eyes one could have.

The Doctor put his head on her chest and gave another sob. He stopped, holding his breath.

"Rose," He said, sitting up but not letting Kara go, "Do you hear that?"

Rose jerked up, "What? No."

The Doctor put his ear against Kara's chest, "ROSE! ROSE SHE'S ALIVE! ONE OF HER HEARTS IS BEATING!"

"What? One of – Doctor what are you doing?!" Rose screeched, jumping to her feet.

He put his one hand where each of her hearts were and closed his eyes.


End file.
